»“Even as swiftly soaring birds, these souls have been freed from this earthly snare…”

“Even as swiftly soaring birds, these souls have been freed from this earthly snare…”

What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a prayer from ʻAbduʼl-Bahá, the original text of which is published in Yárán-i-Pársí, p. 440 (passage no. 646).

He is God

O Thou Forgiver, O Great Lord! Even as swiftly soaring birds, these souls have been freed from this earthly snare, and have winged their flight to the celestial dominion. Liberated are they from their abode of dust, having thrust themselves towards the nest of the sanctified realm. They cherish the hope that, in the radiant rose-bed of the supernal world, they may find a perch upon the cypress-tree of the heavenly garden, and secure for themselves a place within the palace of Thy pardon.

O Thou kind Lord! Permit every pure soul to cross the divine threshold, and exalt the rank of every hapless pauper in the Paradise of Thy sublimity. Cast them into the ocean of Thy beneficence and benevolence, and grant that they may behold Thy luminous countenance. Thou art the Giver, the Bestower, the Forgiver, the Kind.

A typescript of the complete Persian text of this prayer appears below.